LEGACY THAT LIVES ON NOW. >>> LET'S TAKE A LOOK OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW, YOUR DOOR, YOU KNOW THINGS ARE INTENSE. >> WE CAN FEEL IT HERE. WE ARE TRACKING DANGEROUS WEATHER. >> ALSO, DEADLY WILDFIRES ARE BURNING IN NEW MEXICO AS AN OPPRESSIVE HEAT WAVE BLASTS MILLIONS OF AMERICANS FROM THE MIDWEST TO THE NORTHEAST. MEANWHILE, TEXAS IS BRACING FOR THE FIRST TROPICAL STORM OF THE SEASON. >> LET'S GET YOU DOWN TO TEXAS WHERE FOLKS ARE BRACING FOR HEAVY RAIN AND FLOODING FROM ALBERTO. DAVE MALKOFF IS FEELING THAT IN CORPUS CHRISTI. DAVE, WHAT ARE YOU FEELING, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING? >> WE'VE GOT IT. THIS IS THE HURRICANE CENTER. >> Reporter: THIS IS NOW THE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON. YOU KNOW WHY? JUST MINUTES AGO, THEY NAMED THIS AS TROPICAL STORM ALBERTO. THIS IS THE A STORM. IT IS THE FIRST STORM OF WHAT IS DECIDEDLY GOING TO BE, ACCORDING TO NOAA, ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE SEASONS IN MEMORY. YOU CAN SEE THIS STORM IS ABOUT 380 MILES, THE CENTER OF IT, JUST SOUTH OF US IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, COMING ONSHORE. THE EASTERN COAST OF MEXICO MAYBE SOMETIME ON THURSDAY BUT EVEN WITH THAT CENTER BEING SO FAR AWAY FROM US, WE ARE SEEING THESE BANDS PUSHING ALL THE WAY UP, CREATING THIS STORM SURGE, IT LOOKS VERY DRAMATIC TO YOU AND TO ME STANDING RIGHT HERE. LUCKILY WE HAVE A SEAWALL HERE THAT IS PROTECTING US A LITTLE BIT AND SOME WIRES. WE ARE NOT GOING ANY FURTHER THAN THAT. >> WE APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE A SEAWALL THERE. I AM WONDERING IF THAT IS SUFFICIENT PROTECTION FOR RESIDENTS THERE ON THE WATER. WHAT OTHER PROTECTIONS EXIST? >> Reporter: BASICALLY, NOTHING. IF YOU ARE ON A LOW-LYING AREA, THIS IS ABOVE SEA LEVEL BUT WE HAVE SO MUCH STORM SURGE. WE HAVE ABOUT 4 TO 6 FEET OF STORM SURGE THAT IS HAPPENING OVER ON THE BARRIER ISLAND, WHICH IS MUSTANG ISLAND THAT IS FAR AWAY FROM US. THAT IS ACTUALLY PROTECTING US. THAT IS WHAT BARRIER ISLANDS DO. THEY STOPPED THE STORM SURGE FROM COMING THROUGH. STILL, THERE IS EVEN AN RV PARK THAT WE WENT TO YESTERDAY AND A FEW MINUTES AGO AND THAT PLACE IS JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THE SEA LEVEL. WITH THIS TYPE OF STORM SURGE COMING THROUGH AND THE RAINFALL COMING DOWN, WE ARE GETTING DELUGE OF RAINFALL AND THAT IS CAUSING A LOT OF STREET FLOODING, URBAN STREET FLOODING AND ALSO SOME COASTAL FLOODING IS COMING UP HERE.>> YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB IN ILLUSTRATING THE POWER OF STORM SURGE WHICH YOU DON'T NEED TO BE IN THE SYSTEM TO FEEL IT. TALK TO US MORE ABOUT THE FLOODING STATUS IN CORPUS CHRISTI WHERE THESE TYPE OF SCENES MAY BE MORE FREQUENT IN THE DAY AHEAD. >> Reporter: THEY WILL BE, ERROL BECAUSE OF THE STORM SURGE THAT WE ARE SEEING COMING FROM THE ISLAND THAT IS PROTECTING US FROM OVER HERE. AS THE STORMS GET CLOSER AND CLOSER TO US, THE BANDS WILL PUSH OVER AND THAT IS WHAT IS PUSHING ALL OF THE STORM SURGE UP ON US. THAT IS WHAT THE STORM DOES. IT PUSHES THROUGH HERE. AS I FEEL THIS WITH MY HAND, I CAN FEEL THAT THIS IS 86 DEGREES RIGHT NOW. THAT FEELS LIKE BATHTUB TEMPERATURE. WHAT HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS DO AND NOW THAT WE ARE IN THE SEASON, THEY TAKE THAT ENERGY THAT IS IN HERE, THE BATHTUB ENERGY AND THEY DISPERSE IT UP INTO THE HURRICANE. IT IS LIKE AN AIR CONDITIONER FOR THE PLANET. AND IT REDISTRIBUTES THAT ENERGY AROUND AND THAT IS THE ENERGY SOURCE FOR HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS. THE HOTTER THIS IS, THE MORE OF OF A SEASON THAT WE WILL HAVE WITH LANDFALL HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS. >> DAVE IS A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL ILLUSTRATING THE POWER OF THE WEATHER. VIEWERS AT HOME, DON'T TRY WHAT YOU SEE. THANK YOU.
